Earth

Computing

‘Couch potatoes’ tend to be TV-energy hogs

Many government programs urge people to save electricity by using more efficient TVs. Here’s why these programs should target “couch potatoes.”

Genetics

Why some frogs can survive killer fungal disease

A disease is wiping out amphibian species around the globe. New research shows how some frogs develop immunity.

Climate

This planet’s lightning storms are like nothing on Earth

Radio waves from a faraway exoplanet could signal intense lightning storms there.

Environment

Uh oh! Baby fish prefer plastic to real food

Given a choice, baby fish will eat plastic microbeads instead of real food. That plastic stunts their growth and makes them easier prey for predators.

Health & Medicine

Heat sickness

Scientists worry that increasing temperatures could combine with air pollution to up rates of illness and premature death — perhaps dramatically.

Earth

How ancient African fish feed today’s Amazon

Many of the world’s lushest tropical forests would starve if winds didn’t bring them nutrient-rich dust from across an ocean.

Oceans

Polar bears swim for days as sea ice retreats

Melting sea ice is forcing polar bears to swim long distances — up to nine days in one case. Such long treks may be more than the bears can handle.

Earth

Common water pollutants hurt freshwater organisms

The germ killers we use and the drugs we take don’t just disappear. They can end up in the environment. There they can harm aquatic organisms, three teens showed.

Earth

Dust creates deserts in the sky

Vast rivers of dust flow through the sky. This invisible force shapes our world in profound ways. And scientists are finally homing in on a major source.

Earth

Cool Jobs: Getting to know volcanoes

It’s too hot to explore the insides of a volcano. These scientists examine their lava, their low-frequency rumblings and their ‘vog’.

Animals

Pollen can become bee ‘junk food’ as CO₂ rises

Increasing levels of the greenhouse gas are changing diminishing the food value of pollen, bees’ only source of protein.

Microbes

This microbe thinks plastic is dinner

The bacterium Ideonella sakaiensis chows down on one type of polluting plastics. That means it could become helpful in cleaning up environmental waste.